Report to the United Nations Committee Against Torture for the Examination of the First State Report of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam - Acat
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Report to the United Nations Committee Against Torture for the Examination of the First State Report of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam A joint report by ACAT, BPSOS, CAT-VN, CSW, LIV and VN- CAT for UNCAT’s 65th session in Geneva, Nov 12, 2018 – Dec 7, 2018
2 VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 2018
Submitted by
ACAT-France. Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture, created in 1974, is a Paris-based ecumenical
organisation fighting against torture and the death penalty around the world and defending asylum rights. ACAT is
based on a network of more than 36.000 activists in France and more than 300 local groups. The organisation
campaigns for the abolition of torture and every other form of cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment and lobbies
governments (including the French one) and international organisations. ACAT also raises awareness among the public
by creating and disseminating documents and reflections.
Founded in 1980 by former Vietnamese refugees, Boat People SOS (BPSOS) is a non-profit organization with branches
in multiple cities in the United States and operations in Southeast Asia. For the past 38 years, BPSOS's international
initiatives have defended the rights of asylum seekers, rescued victims of human trafficking, supported at-risk human
rights defenders and built capacity for persecuted religious and indigenous communities.
The Campaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam (CAT-VN), advocates for the elimination of all forms of torture in
Vietnam. Formed in 2014, CAT-VN monitors and reports instances of torture and mistreatment of detainees and
prisoners in Vietnam, and proposes specific recommendations to the Vietnamese government and international
stakeholders on practical approaches to systematically prevent and abolish torture in Vietnam.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is an advocacy organisation specialising in freedom of religion or belief (FoRB),
and works on over 20 countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. CSW has over three decades of
3
VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 2018experience in advocating for FoRB and has held ECOSOC Special Consultative Status since 2017. Through in depth
research, CSW gathers evidence of violations of FoRB, raises awareness, and calls on nations to uphold this right in
accordance with international and national or constitutional obligations.
Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV) was formed by a group of Vietnamese lawyers, jurists, and journalists who have
been working with various independent CSOs in the country since at least 2011. LIV works to improve the political
and legal framework and culture in Vietnam through the implementation of universal values of human rights,
democracy, and the rule of law.
VN-CAT. Vietnam-Coalition Against Torture, formed in 2016, is a civil society organization specializing in advocacy for
the abolition of torture in Vietnam. Our objectives include, but not limited to: Educate the people in Vietnam about
national and international laws against torture and the obligations of the Vietnamese government pursuant to the UN
Convention Against Torture (CAT); monitor the implementation of CAT by the Vietnamese government; encourage
victims and activists to report violations of CAT.
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VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 2018Table of Contents
Vietnamese Legal References ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 8
Violations of the Convention Against Torture ............................................................................................................. 9
1. Inadequate Legal Safeguards Against Torture............................................................................................................ 9
1.1. Legal Framework ................................................................................................................................................. 9
1.2. Legislative Shortcomings ................................................................................................................................... 10
2. Police Brutality in Dispersing Public Protests ........................................................................................................... 11
3. Physical Attacks by Government-Backed ‘Thugs’ ..................................................................................................... 12
4. Abuses in Police Custody and Pre-Trial Detention Centers ...................................................................................... 13
4.1. Methods of Physical Torture ............................................................................................................................. 13
4.2. Lethal Beatings and Deaths in Custody ............................................................................................................. 14
5. Abuses in Administrative Detention Centers ........................................................................................................... 16
5.1. Compulsory Re-education Centers ................................................................................................................... 17
5.2. Social Protection Centers .................................................................................................................................. 17
5.3. Mandatory Drug Rehabilitation Centers ........................................................................................................... 17
6. Abuses in Prisons: General Inmate Population ........................................................................................................ 18
6.1. Harsh Disciplinary Measures ............................................................................................................................. 18
6.2. Detention Conditions Amounting to Torture and Ill-Treatment ....................................................................... 19
7. Abuses of Prisoners of Conscience ........................................................................................................................... 23
7.1. During Police Custody and Pre-Trial Detention................................................................................................. 23
7.2. Post Trial Abuses: Isolation and Discriminatory Treatment .............................................................................. 30
8. Abuses of Ethnic and Religious Minorities ............................................................................................................... 38
8.1. Montagnard Christians ...................................................................................................................................... 38
8.2. Hmong Christians .............................................................................................................................................. 40
8.3. Montagnard and Hmong Refugees in Thailand ................................................................................................ 41
8.4. Khmer Krom Buddhists ..................................................................................................................................... 42
8.5. Religious Freedom Defenders ........................................................................................................................... 42
9. Abuses of Death Row Prisoners................................................................................................................................ 43
9.1. Forced Confessions Used as Sole Evidence in Death Penalty Cases ................................................................. 43
9.2. Prison Conditions on Death Row Fail to Follow International Standards ......................................................... 44
9.3. Lack of Contact with the Outside World ........................................................................................................... 45
9.4. Long Waits and Last-Minute Execution Notice Amount to Torture .................................................................. 46
5
VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 201810. Lack of Independent Monitoring and Effective Complaint Mechanisms ............................................................... 47
11. Impunity for Perpetrators ...................................................................................................................................... 48
11.1. Lack of Transparency and Censorship ............................................................................................................. 48
11.2. Due to Vaguely Worded Laws and Judicial Bias, Perpetrators are Seldom Prosecuted ................................. 49
11.3. Human Rights Lawyers are Targeted .............................................................................................................. 49
11.4. Harassment of Victims and their Family in their Search for Justice ................................................................ 50
Recommendations.....................................................................................................................................................52
Signatories .................................................................................................................................................................55
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VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 2018Vietnamese Legal References
Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (2013):
http://www.constitutionnet.org/sites/default/files/tranlation_of_vietnams_new_constitution_enuk_2.pdf
2015 Criminal Code (No. 100/2015/QH13):
http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=446021
1999 Criminal Code (No. 15/1999/QH10):
http://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/vn/vn017en.pdf
2015 Criminal Procedure Code (No. 101/2015/QH13):
https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/Trach-nhiem-hinh-su/Law-No-101-2015-QH13-criminal-procedure-code-
307841.aspx
2010 Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments (No. 53/2010/QH12):
https://vanbanphapluat.co/law-no-53-2010-qh12-on-execution-of-criminal-judgments
2011 Law on Complaints (No. 02/2011/QH13):
https://vanbanphapluat.co/law-no-02-2011-qh13-on-complaints
2011 Law on Denunciations (No. 03/2011/QH1):
https://vanbanphapluat.co/law-no-03-2011-qh13-on-denunciations
2015 Law on Enforcement of Custody and Temporary Detention (No. 94/2015/QH13):
http://vbpl.vn/TW/Pages/vbpqen-toanvan.aspx?ItemID=11047
2016 Ministry of Public Security Circular No. 13/22016/TT-BCA:
https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/Thu-tuc-To-tung/Thong-tu-13-2016-TT-BCA-thuc-hien-nhiem-vu-bao-ve-phien-
toa-cong-an-nhan-dan-305390.aspx
2005 Ministry of Public Security Circular No. 09/2005/TT-BCA: Guiding the implementation of Government’s Decree
no. 38/2005/ND-CP of March 18, 2005:
http://vbpl.vn/bocongan/Pages/vbpqen-toanvan.aspx?ItemID=6710
2012 Ministry of Public Security Circular No. 39/2012/TT-BCA on managing and detaining death row inmates (in
Vietnamese):
http://www.moj.gov.vn/vbpq/lists/vn%20bn%20php%20lut/view_detail.aspx?itemid=30500
2018 Ministry of Public Security Circular No. 07/2018/TT-BCA, providing regulations regarding prisoners’ visits with
their relatives, sending and receiving mail, receiving money and objects, and contacting their relatives by telephone,
February 12, 2018 (in Vietnamese):
https://thukyluat.vn/4FA8D/thong-tu-07-2018-tt-bca/tag.html
2017 Decree No. 97/2017/ND-CP detailing a number of measures to implement the Law on Handling Administrative
Violations, August 18, 2017 (in Vietnamese): https://luatminhgia.com.vn/nghi-dinh/nghi-dinh-97-2017-nd-cp-quy-
dinh-chi-tiet-mot-so-dieu-va-bien-phap-thi-hanh-luat-xu-ly-vi-pham-hanh-chinh.aspx
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VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 2018Introduction
Police brutality, torture, and lethal beatings continue unabated throughout the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(hereafter Vietnam) despite its obligations under the United Nations Convention against Torture (UNCAT), which it
signed and ratified in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
In this joint report by Vietnamese and international civil society organizations to the United Nations Committee
Against Torture, we document the widespread use of torture in Vietnam, the systematic impunity of the abusers, and
the lack of concrete action by the government of Vietnam to effectively reduce and prevent acts of torture. We focus
specifically on abuses that take place in police stations, detention centers, and prisons that operate under the
authority of the Ministry of Public Security. In addition to abuses suffered by the general population of prisoners and
detainees, we examine specific violations of the rights or prisoners of conscience, ethnic and religious minorities, and
1
inmates on death row.
The findings in this report are based on research and first-hand interviews conducted by our organizations,
supplemented by reports by Vietnamese and international media, UN agencies, foreign governments, and Vietnamese
and international human rights organizations. We also drew from online reports, videos and photographs posted by
bloggers and human rights defenders in Vietnam, as well as from Vietnamese state media and official government
documents, directives, and laws.
The Vietnamese government’s lack of transparency and constraints on independent human rights researchers make it
challenging to conduct in-country research. We hope that in the future the government of Vietnam will enable
research and inquiry into human rights practices — and in particular into conditions in prisons, detention centers, and
police lock-ups — without restriction or sanction.
1
We use the term prisoner of conscience to refer to individuals arrested and imprisoned for peacefully exercising their
internationally protected human rights.
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VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 2018Violations of the Convention Against Torture
1. Inadequate Legal Safeguards Against Torture
The UNCAT prohibits torture and other ill-treatment in all circumstances without exception. It also commits state
parties to prevent torture by taking “effective legislative, administrative, judicial and other measures”.
Essential safeguards against torture in pre-trial detention, such as the right to legal representation and limits on
incommunicado detention, do not exist for most prisoners of conscience in Vietnam. In addition, political and religious
detainees are rarely brought before a judge until the day of their trial, denying them the right to challenge the
lawfulness of their detention or their treatment, including torture, in custody.
Many of the basic safeguards against torture and other abuses of detainees are enshrined in the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Vietnam is a party. It protects the rights of people deprived of
their liberty, including the right to prompt access to legal advice and a fair trial.
Instead of conforming to these agreed standards, Vietnam’s judicial system is characterized by arbitrary arrest;
lengthy pre-trial detention; incommunicado detention; lack of presumption of innocence during court proceedings,
where evidence is often lacking or fabricated; denial of access to defense lawyers; and politically-based judicial
decisions.
1.1. Legal Framework
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam signed the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) on November 7, 2013. Its National Assembly ratified UNCAT on
November 28, 2014. During 2015, the Prime Minister, Minister of Public Security, Supreme People’s Procuracy, and
2
the Ministry of Justice issued action plans for the implementation of UNCAT and amended key legislation pertaining
to criminal justice.
The Constitution of Vietnam as amended in 2013 guarantees the right to life of all individuals and the inviolability of
the individual and the legal protection against torture, violence, coercion, corporal punishment or any form of
3
treatment harming body, health, honor and dignity.
Vietnam’s 2015 Criminal Procedure Code prohibits torture, corporal punishment, and “any other forms of treatment
4
that violate a person’s body, life and health.” The 2015 Law on Enforcement of Custody and Detention prohibits
“torture, corporal punishment or any other forms of treatment that infringe upon lawful rights and interests of,
5
people held in custody or temporary detention.”
2
Documents 364/QD-TTG (March 17, 2015), 2139/QĐ-BCA-V19 (April 24, 2015), 384/QD-VKSNDTC (June 18, 2015) and 1686/QD-
BTP (September 21, 2015).
3
Article 19 and 20 of the Constitution of Vietnam (2013).
4
Article 10, Criminal Procedure Code of Vietnam, Law No. 101/2015/QH13, November 27, 2015.
5
Law on Enforcement of Custody and Temporary Detention, No. 94/2015/QH13, November 25, 2015.
9
VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 20186
Vietnam’s Criminal Code, as amended in 2015, stipulates sentencing guidelines for the following criminal acts:
● Voluntary manslaughter by a law enforcement officer in performance of his/her official duties (Article 127);
● Deliberate infliction of bodily harm by a law enforcement officer in performance of his/her official duties
(Article 137);
● Illegal arrest, detention, or imprisonment of a person (Article 157);
● Use of torture (Article 373);
● Obtainment of testimony by duress, including using torture, mistreating or insulting the interrogated person
(Article 374).
1.2. Legislative Shortcomings
Despite Vietnam’s obligations as a member state of UNCAT and the promulgation of a wide range of policies and laws
7
on the implementation of the convention, enforcement of legislative and institutional instruments prohibiting acts of
torture remains poor. Torture, police brutality, and deaths in custody remain prevalent in Vietnam not only for
8
prisoners of conscience but for people arrested for other crimes.
While the government of Vietnam has incorporated prohibitions on torture in legislation passed or amended since
2015, these laws do not provide an explicit or comprehensive definition of torture consistent with Article 1 of UNCAT,
nor do they provide essential safeguards against torture. According to Amnesty International, “The result is vague and
deficient criminal offences that tend to reduce the gravity of the criminal conduct involved in a manner which is
totally inconsistent with the fundamental and immutable nature of the prohibition on torture and other ill-
9
treatment.”
In violation of the absolute prohibition on torture provided by Article 2 of UNCAT, Vietnam’s 2015 Criminal Code
authorizes police officers to use violence or inflict bodily harm in certain circumstances. Criminal Code Article 137
prohibits police officers from deliberately inflicting bodily harm in carrying out their duties – except for circumstances
“in which infliction of bodily harm is permitted by law”.
The government continues to use imprecisely-defined national security provisions in the Criminal Code and other laws
10
to arrest and imprison peaceful political and religious dissidents. Rights groups estimate that approximately 246
11
prisoners of conscience are currently detained or imprisoned, the majority on national security charges.
6
Criminal Code of Vietnam, Law No. 100/2015/QH13, November 27, 2015.
7
See Annex 13 (referenced in paragraph 131) of Vietnam’s Initial Report on the implementation of CAT submitted in December
2017, which outlines the promulgation of plans by central and provincial government agencies and ministries in regard to the
government’s obligations under CAT.
8
See, for example, “Public Insecurity: Deaths in Custody and Police Brutality in Vietnam," Human Rights Watch, September 16,
2014, available at https://www.hrw.org/report/2014/09/16/public-insecurity/deaths-custody-and-police-brutality-vietnam
9
“Prisons Within Prisons: Torture and Ill-Treatment of Prisoners of Conscience in Viet Nam," Amnesty International, July 2016,
https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/ASA4141872016ENGLISH.PDF
10
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has found that Vietnam’s Criminal Code does not distinguish between
violent and peaceful acts in defining “national security” crimes, which means that arrests of people for peaceful exercise of
fundamental freedoms are arbitrary and in violation of international covenants to which Vietnam is a party. Report of the United
Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Visit to Vietnam,” December 21, 1994, UN doc E/CN.4/1995/31/Add.4
11
“Latest Count: Vietnam Holds 246 Prisoners of Conscience," Now! Campaign, October 1, 2018,
http://www.vietnamhumanrightsdefenders.net/2018/10/03/vietnam-holds-246-prisoners-of-conscience-nowcampaign/
10
VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 2018Among the Criminal Code provisions most frequently used to suppress dissent are Article 109 (formerly 79), sedition;
Article 116 (formerly 87), undermining the unity policy; Article 117 (formerly 88), propaganda against the state; and
Article 330 (formerly 258), abusing democratic freedoms.
Once convicted, prisoners of conscience are stripped of many of the rights accorded to common criminal offenders in
Vietnam. Instead, they are confined in special “Security Sections” (Khu An Ninh) in prisons, where they are isolated
from and treated differently than the general prisoner population. The segregation and discriminatory treatment of
prisoners sentenced for national security crime is provided by the Law on Execution of Criminal Judgements and its
implementing legislation, Circular 37, and the Law on Enforcement of Custody and Detention (version 2015) (See
section 7, below).
Upon release, former prisoners of conscience convicted on national security charges are subjected to additional
penalties under Criminal Code Article 92, which deprives them of certain citizenship rights, places them on probation
for up to five years, and allows confiscation of all or part of their property.
2. Police Brutality in Dispersing Public Protests
Even though the rights to freedom of assembly and association are enshrined in Vietnam's Constitution and the 2015
Criminal Code, a number of domestic laws that restrict freedom of assembly are used by police to aggressively crack
down on peaceful protesters.
Decree No. 38 requires that any gathering of five or more people in a public place must be registered in advance with
the district-level or provincial-level People’s Committee, unless the activities are organized by the Party or State
12
bodies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations.
Circular 13, issued by the Ministry of Public Security in 2016, provides additional rationale for police to violently
13
disperse families and supporters gathering near courthouses when activists are on trial.
In many cases, authorities have used Article 245 of the Criminal Code (now Article 318) on “causing public disorder” to
target peaceful activists and rights defenders for exercising their right to freedom of assembly by violently arresting
and prosecuting them.
The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials remind that
officials “shall, as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force.” They also specify that
“[w]henever the lawful use of force and firearms is unavoidable, law enforcement officials shall exercise restraint in
14
such use and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence”.
12
MPS Circular No. 09/2005/TT-BCA: Guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Government’s Decree no.
38/2005/ND-CP of March 18, 2005,
http://vbpl.vn/bocongan/Pages/vbpqen-toanvan.aspx?ItemID=6710
13
MPS Circular 13/2016/TT-BCA, 2016,
https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/Thu-tuc-To-tung/Thong-tu-13-2016-TT-BCA-thuc-hien-nhiem-vu-bao-ve-phien-toa-cong-an-
nhan-dan-305390.aspx
14
Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, September 1990,
https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/useofforceandfirearms.aspx
11
VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 2018During the first two weeks of June 2018, police violently suppressed mass protests by ordinary citizens across Vietnam
against the draft bills on special economic zones and cyber security. As many as 800 people were arrested, primarily in
15
Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Binh Thuan province. Video recordings at the scene showed police forcibly dispersing
protesters using tear gas, batons, water cannons, and Long-Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs), which emit pain-inducing
16
sounds. Police swiftly and violently arrested demonstrators as well as anyone under suspicion of intending to join
the rallies. Some bystanders and tourists were arrested in the chaos. Many detainees were severely beaten on the
17
street by uniformed and undercover police and members of civilian defense forces, dragged into police vehicles, and
beaten again multiple times while being transported and during detention at police stations or make-shift detention
18
centers. (See section 4, below.)
3. Physical Attacks by Government-Backed ‘Thugs’
Violent suppression of peaceful protests and physical attacks on activists can be carried out by the military, local
militia, and uniformed and plainclothes police as well as by unidentified individuals or local mobs acting under police
direction or acquiescence. In recent years, Vietnamese authorities have increasingly used groups of civilians to
violently suppress popular protests and carry out harassment and physical assault on democracy campaigners and
19
human rights defenders.
Extremist groups such as the Red Flags Association frequently gather in large numbers and attack Catholic priests and
parishioners in Vietnam while local police keep watch. On September 4, 2017, 20 Red Flag members carrying red flags,
a pistol, electric batons, and tear gas dispensers entered Tho Hoa Parish in Dong Nai Province. They demanded
retribution against Rev. Nguyen Duy Tan, the parish priest, who had posted opinions on his personal Facebook critical
of the government’s policy toward independent religions. The parishioners were able to disarm the intruders. They
called the police and prepared an official incident report, then requested a full investigation into the attack. However,
15
The figure of 800 arrests is a conservative figure. It is based on numbers supplied by police to state media, eyewitness accounts,
and reports posted on social media. See: “HCM City Police Deal with 310 Extremists," Voice of Vietnam, June 15, 2018,
https://english.vov.vn/society/hcm-city-police-deal-with-310-extremists-377066.vov; “Police to Launch Criminal Probe into Violent
Protest in Central Vietnam," VNExpress, June 13, 2018,
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/police-to-launch-criminal-probe-into-violent-protest-in-central-vietnam-3762806.html
16
In June 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that purposefully using LRADs in a manner capable
of causing significant injuries, including hearing loss, is considered the use of excessive force. United States Court of Appeals for the
Second District: 17‐2065 Edrei v. Bratton,
http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/9a47eab2-8454-4880-822a-6f34731b14d7/2/doc/17-2065_opn.pdf
17
A video clip provided by an unnamed demonstrator that shows unidentified individuals committing violent acts while uniformed
policemen looked on is available on Dan Lam Bao (Citizen Journalism) website at:
http://danlambaovn.blogspot.com/2018/06/can-canh-ca-ap-anh-o-mau-nguoi-bieu.html
18
Reports of police beating and mistreating demonstrators are based on eyewitness accounts, photographs and videos posted on
social media, as well as media reports and documentation by human rights organizations. See: “Hundreds of Vietnamese Protestors
Arrested, Beaten During Nationwide Demonstrations, Crackdown Continues,” Defend the Defenders, June 13, 2018,
http://www.vietnamhumanrightsdefenders.net/2018/06/13/hundreds-of-vietnamese-protestors-arrested-beaten-during-
nationwide-demonstrations-crackdown-continues/ ;
“Many Vietnamese Protestors Say They Were Beaten in Custody, Numerous Others Still Held," Defend the Defenders, June 11,
2018, http://www.vietnamhumanrightsdefenders.net/2018/06/11/many-vietnamese-protestors-say-they-were-beaten-in-custody-
numerous-others-still-held/ ; “The HCMC Police Kept Silent about Beating Up Protesters," RFA Facebook, June 25, 2018; “Black
Sundays Report: Vietnamese People’s Response to Police Brutality During June 2018 Protests," The Vietnamese, June 29, 2018;
“Vietnam: Investigate Police Response to Mass Protests - Hundreds Detained in Sweeping Crackdown," Human Rights Watch, June
15, 2018,
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/06/15/vietnam-investigate-police-response-mass-protests ;
19
“No Country for Human Rights Activists,” Human Rights Watch, June 18, 2017, available at
https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/06/18/no-country-human-rights-activists/assaults-bloggers-and-democracy-campaigners .
12
VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 2018the authorities only imposed an administrative fine on the intruders, including an equivalent of 40 USD fine against
20
one member of the group for “possessing a dangerous toy gun”.
In another incident, on May 2, 2017, approximately ten unidentified men broke into a private residence on Tran Nao
street, Ho Chi Minh City, where activist Le My Hanh was staying with two female friends, and viciously assaulted the
three women. The assailants recorded the violent attack and posted the video clip on social media. One man could be
21
heard in the clip asking the victim, “You are a reactionary, aren’t you?”. Le My Hanh received a medical report of her
injuries and requested the District 2 Police Department to investigate the attack and prosecute the assailants but as of
October 2018, the case is yet to be resolved.
From June 24 to July 4, 2018, unidentified assailants attacked the house of former prisoner of conscience Do Thi Minh
Hanh, a labor rights activist and founder of Viet Labor Movement, on four different occasions. First, around a dozen
men threw rocks at her family’s home. Two days later, the attack escalated when a home-made explosive device was
thrown into her house but failed to ignite. A few days later, the power to her house was cut off in the middle of the
night while rocks and an unknown chemical was thrown at her house, breaking glass and roof tiles and damaging
22
furniture. During this ten-day period, Ms. Hanh tried to call the police for help several times to no avail.
4. Abuses in Police Custody and Pre-Trial Detention Centers
Vietnamese and international human rights organizations have documented the widespread practice by police of
mistreating, torturing, and even beating to death criminal suspects in temporary custody in Vietnam, even those
23
detained for minor crimes such as routine traffic violations.
Detainees are at most risk of being tortured by police during interrogation sessions that take place in temporary
detention centers (trai tam giam) prior to trial, when they may be subjected to intense physical and psychological
torture and abuse in order to extract information and coerced confessions from them.
4.1. Methods of Physical Torture
During interrogation sessions, which can take place at any time of day or night, detainees are subjected to a number
of different forms of torture by police and prison officials:
● They are beaten with truncheons, belts, and leather sandals, boxed on the ears until they bleed, slammed
against concrete walls, kicked with military boots, and shocked with electric batons.
● Some have their heads forcibly submerged in water during interrogation, or are forced to drink soapy water
and then punched in the stomach.
● Others are injected with drugs that cause permanent memory loss and make them numb, weak, and unable
to speak and think clearly.
● Detainees describe being hung up by their handcuffed wrists to the ceiling or the upper ledge of a window
while being beaten with batons or shocked with electric rods.
20
“Red Flag Associations: An Emerging Threat to Catholic Communities in Vietnam,” BPSOS Religious Freedom Project, March 27,
2018, available at http://dvov.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/BPSOS-Report-on-Red-Flag-Associations-03-27-18.pdf
21
The assault of human rights activist Le My Hanh, Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hANDhBNdog
22
"Labour rights activist Do Thi Minh Hanh blockaded in home, subject to daily violent attacks," Front Line Defenders, July 10, 2018
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/do-thi-minh-hanh-subject-daily-violent-attacks
23
“Police Brutality and Lethal Beatings,” Campaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam, 2014, http://www.stoptorture-vn.org/police-
brutality-and-lethal-beatings.html
13
VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 2018● Many are forced to maintain uncomfortable positions, such as sitting, squatting, lying down with arms and
legs raised, or standing on one leg, for long periods of time.
● Others describe how police insert writing pens between their fingers and then tightly tie their hand with a
rope, squeezing and crushing the fingers; or set two legs of a chair on the detainee’s foot and then sit on the
chair while interrogating the detainee.
● Some former detainees reported abuses that took place after they were forced to strip naked, such as guards
standing on their legs and arms, attaching plastic bottles filled with water to the penis, shooting rubber bands
at the penis, using electric shock to inflict pain on the groin and genitals, and conducting humiliating, invasive
24
body searches.
During the detention and interrogation of protesters arrested during demonstrations in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and
Binh Thuan province in June 2018 (see Section 2, above), police subjected detainees to beatings and verbal abuse,
including death threats. In many cases, police did not return confiscated money and personal belongings to detainees
upon their release or transfer. A number of women reported being humiliated by having their clothes stripped off
while they were videotaped by the police. Examples of some of the victims who suffered serious injuries include Mrs.
Nguyen Thi Thuy Hanh, a well-known human rights advocate in Hanoi, who was detained and beaten in the police
station of Dong Da district, resulting in bruises and burst lips; or Trinh Van Toan in Ho Chi Minh City who suffered a
brain hemorrhage as a result of severe beatings during his interrogation. Other protesters who were seriously injured
as a result of police beatings in Ho Chi Minh City include Hoai Diem, Nguyen Thi Mai, and Pham Thi Thanh Truc.
Despite physical abuse by police, about 150 people were charged with “disturbing public order”. Those who were
released continue to be closely monitored and threatened by the authorities. Some have been forced to remove
information they shared on social media about their unlawful detention, ill-treatment, and torture.
4.2. Lethal Beatings and Deaths in Custody
The Initial report by the government of Vietnam does not mention the many cases of deaths in police custody that
have been reported by Vietnamese state media, Vietnamese human rights defenders, and Vietnamese and
international human rights organizations since 2010. These include a list of 31 deaths in police custody published in
April 2014 by human rights defender Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh on the blog Vietnamese Blogger Network, which she
25
co-founded. Other reports include one released by Human Rights Watch in September 2014 that documented 44
cases of police brutality resulting in deaths and serious injury of people in custody between August 2010 and July
26
2014, in 44 of Vietnam’s 58 provinces and all five of Vietnam’s major cities.
In March 2015, the Ministry of Public Security reported that from October 2011 to September 2014, 226 people had
27
died in police custody and detention centers. At a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on
March 19, 2015, several lawmakers and members of the Judicial Committee raised doubts about the reliability of the
report’s conclusion that the main causes of death were illness and suicide, and asked the Ministry of Public Security
for clarification regarding conditions of detention leading to deaths. Details of the report were not made public for
verification.
24
“Vietnam: Torture and Abuse of Political and Religious Prisoners," Campaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam, 2014.
25
“Stop Police Killing Civilians," Vietnamese Blogger Network, April 21, 2014,
http://mangluoiblogger.blogspot.com/2014/04/tap-tai-lieu-ve-tinh-trang-cong-dan.html
26
“Public Insecurity: Deaths in Custody and Police Brutality in Vietnam," Human Rights Watch, September 16, 2014,
https://www.hrw.org/report/2014/09/16/public-insecurity/deaths-custody-and-police-brutality-vietnam
27
“Doubts linger as Vietnam reports causes of 226 deaths in custody,” Thanh Nien News, March 22, 2015,
http://www.thanhniennews.com/politics/doubts-lingeras-vietnam-reports-causes-of-226-deaths-in-custody-40112.html
14
VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 2018While the Ministry of Public Security alleged that suicide was the major cause of death, the situation around many
cases makes suicide almost impossible or absurd. Several of the deceased were said to have hanged themselves using
unusual articles such as their shirt, pants, the drawstring of their pants, belt, towel, and even shoelaces. On April 2,
2015, the police of Ba Dinh district in Hanoi ruled the death of Mrs. Nguyen Hong Luong, a petitioner in a land dispute,
a suicide by self-immolation inside the police station. However, her family members told the media that autopsy
28
revealed that in addition to burns, she also had a fractured skull and five broken ribs.
29
Research by VN-CAT, based on information published in state-controlled media outlets, tallies 156 cases of deaths in
police detention from 2010 to the present. Those include 23 cases of torture and severe police brutality and 133
fatalities. The number of alleged suicides accounted for 42 percent of all deaths. Of those 56 suicide cases, 46 were
reported as hanging (more than one-third of the total fatalities), 10 were by other methods. 13 died from unknown
causes, 16 from illness, 33 from serious injuries sustained while in police custody such as traumatic brain injury,
collapsed lungs, fractured skull, broken jaw bones and punctured intestine. Another 15 deaths were due to various
causes, including falling, drowning, electrocution, and police shooting.
There appears to be a notable pattern of police officials attributing most deaths in custody to suicide. For example,
under the leadership of Colonel Pham Van Ngan, the Deputy Chief of Vinh Long provincial police and the Head of
Police Investigation, five cases of deaths in police custody were reported between 2012 and 2018, including three at
the same detention center. One was said to be an accident while the four others were ruled as suicide. None of those
five cases resulted in prosecutions.
Examples of individuals arrested for common criminal offenses who have died in police custody include the following:
● On July 8, 2017, Nguyen Hong De, a 26-year old suspect, died at the Temporary Detention Center of Phan
Rang, in Ninh Thuan province, two days after his arrest on assault charge. The police notified his mother that
30
De had used his long-sleeved shirt to hang himself.
● In March 2016, Y Sik Nie, a Montagnard from Dak Lak province, died from alleged torture during more than
three months’ detention by district police in Dak Lak on charges of theft. His family learned about his death
when they were summoned to the hospital to retrieve his body. Authorities refused the family’s request Y Sik
31
Nie’s police and hospital medical.
● On December 30, 2013, 14-year old Tu Ngoc Thach was arrested by Van Long commune police in Khanh Hoa
province for his involvement in an argument with a group of youths. When his family was told to go to the
commune police station to fill out paperwork to bail him out, they found Thach collapsed with his head on
the table. His family rushed him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead due to brain hemorrhage; he
had skull fractures in the right temple area. Under public pressure due to severe violence against an
28
"Hà Nội: Người phụ nữ chết sau khi tới UBND phường" (Hanoi: A woman died after arriving at the commune People's
Committee), statement of the victim's daughter to the press in the last section of the article, Vietnam Net, April 7, 2015,
http://vietnamnet.vn/vn/thoi-su/ha-noi-nguoi-phu-nu-chet-sau-khi-toi-ubnd-phuong-230919.html
29
VN- CAT database: Number of Torture Incidents in Vietnam, accessed on October 10, 2018,
http://endtorturevn.org/article.php?&L=en&M=1&type=0
30
"Vụ thanh niên tử vong sau khi bị tạm giữ ở Ninh Thuận: Dùng áo treo cổ tự tử" (The Young man Died After Being Detained in
Ninh Thuan: Suicide by Hanging With His Shirt), Baomoi, July 11, 2017, https://baomoi.com/vu-thanh-nien-tu-vong-sau-khi-bi-tam-
giu-o-ninh-thuan-dung-ao-treo-co-tu-tu/c/22723462.epi
31
“Chồng bị bắt lên công an, vợ được mời đến bệnh viện... nhận xác” (The Husband Was Taken to the Police, the Wife Was Invited
to the Hospital...to Receive the Body), Bao Phap Luat, http://baophapluat.vn/phong-su-dieu-tra/chong-bi-bat-len-cong-an-vo-duoc-
moi-den-benh-vien-nhan-xac-269778.html ; Vietnam 2016 Human Rights Report, United States Department of State,
https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/265598.pdf
15
VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 2018underage victim, the authorities brought the case to trial. The police officer who personally inflicted the fatal
injuries was convicted of "Intentionally inflicting injury" in pursuant of Article 104 of the 1999 Criminal Code.
In March 2016 the People's Court of Van Ninh district sentenced the offender to 7 years and 6 months
imprisonment. However, as of October 2018 the sentencing has not been finalized after six court
32
proceedings, including three Appellate Court trials.
● On July 23, 2010, Nguyen Van Khuong, aged 21, was arrested by traffic police for failure to wear a safety
helmet while driving a moped. He died while in the custody of Tan Yen district police in Bac Giang province
due to brain hemorrhage. After massive protests in Bac Giang, the provincial police ordered the arrest of a
traffic police officer involved in Khuong's death, and placed three other officers on administrative leave
pending investigation. There is no public information as to whether any of the police officers were ever
33
formally charged or convicted.
5. Abuses in Administrative Detention Centers
Vietnam’s laws authorize the arbitrary “administrative detention” without trial of individuals considered threats to
security, social order, or public safety. Normal legal safeguards relating to imprisonment do not apply to
administrative detention centers, which operate outside of the criminal justice system. Administrative detainees are
often picked up by police and sent to detention centers without notification of family members, heightening the risk
that mistreatment of detainees can be carried out with impunity.
Under the 2012 Law on Handling Administrative Violations, people who violate laws on security, public order and
safety, but not to the extent of criminal liability, may be placed under mandatory supervision and re-education in their
34
locality or detained without trial in reformatories, re-education camps and compulsory detoxification centers.
In theory, administrative detention is intended as punishment for people who have committed public order offenses
that do not warrant criminal prosecution. In reality, administrative detention is often imposed in cases where there is
not enough evidence to convict the person on criminal charges. Administrative detention laws can also be used to
arbitrarily arrest and quietly punish perceived “trouble makers” such as land rights petitioners or members of
unsanctioned religious groups, particularly in remote rural areas where it is less likely that international media or
human rights defenders know about the cases.
Following widespread protests throughout Vietnam in June 2018, state media reported that authorities imposed
“administrative punishments” on 175 protesters arrested in Ho Chi Minh City on June 9-10 on suspicion of “violating
35
laws at different levels, from harming national security to affecting social order and safety”. No details were
32
"Ám ảnh nước mắt người cha" (Haunted by Tears of the Father"), Baomoi, May 5, 2018, https://baomoi.com/am-anh-nuoc-mat-
nguoi-cha/c/25913407.epi
33
"Vu cong dan chet tai tru so Cong an huyen Tan Yen (Bac Giang): Bat tam giam mot thieu uy cong an” (The Case in which a Citizen
Died at the Police Station of Tan Yen District (Bac Giang): Police Lieutenant Detained) Dai Doan Ket, August 10, 2010,
https://baomoi.com/vu-cong-dan-chet-tai-tru-so-cong-an-huyen-tan-yen-bac-giang-bat-tam-giam-mot-thieu-uy-cong-
an/c/4684210.epi ; "Xử lý công an Bắc Giang vụ dân đột tử" (Action taken against Bac Giang Police in Regard to Sudden Death of
Citizen"), BBC Vietnamese, August 6, 2010,
https://www.bbc.com/vietnamese/vietnam/2010/08/100806_bacgiang_policeman_arrest
34
Article 2.3, Law No. 15 on Handling Administrative Violations No.15/2012/QH13) of June 20, 2012,
http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=445570.
35
“HCM City Police Deal with 310 Extremists," Voice of Vietnam, June 15, 2018, https://english.vov.vn/society/hcm-city-police-deal-
with-310-extremists-377066.vov
16
VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 2018provided as to what the punishments entailed. Under the Law on Administrative Violations, penalties range from fines
36
and warnings to re-education and compulsory detention.
5.1. Compulsory Re-education Centers
Administrative offenders can be detained without trial for two-year renewable terms in “compulsory educational
institutions” (cơ sở giáo dục bắt buộc) – often referred to as re-education camps – that are administered by the
37
Ministry of Public Security. Under the guise of vocational training, detainees are required to perform forced labor
and fulfill production quotas in plantations, factories, and workshops. The use of forced labor by detainees in re-
education and drug detention centers (see below) violates ILO Convention No. 29. Ratified by Vietnam in 2007, the
convention prohibits the use of forced labor by detainees who have not been convicted in a court of law.
One of the few administrative detention cases to receive national and international press coverage was that of Hanoi-
based activist Bui Thi Minh Hang, who was sent to Thanh Ha re-education camp in Vinh Phuc for two years’ detention
38
in 2011. International pressure was a factor in her early release after five months in detention.
More often, there is no press coverage or domestic and international advocacy about administrative detainees. Lack
of a public trial and incommunicado detention makes it extremely difficult to trace detainees’ location and treatment
in detention, with their families sometimes not even knowing their whereabouts. This has been the case for
39
Montagnards belonging to independent house churches in the Central Highlands. Putting activists such as these in
detention for two years effectively silences them, with little chance of any outcry from the international community.
5.2. Social Protection Centers
Administrative offenders can also be compulsorily detained in Social Protection Centers (Trung Tam Bao Tro Xa Hoi).
Police routinely round up homeless people, street children, beggars, and street vendors in arbitrary sweeps and
deposit them in Social Protection Centers, where some are subject to verbal beatings, verbal abuse and mistreatment
40
by staff. Rural land rights activists petitioning authorities in the cities as well as citizens participating in peaceful
protests have also been arrested and detained in Social Protection Centers without access to legal counsel or due
41
process.
5.3. Mandatory Drug Rehabilitation Centers
People who use drugs can be detained without trial for up to four years in mandatory drug rehabilitation centers (cơ
sở cai nghiện bắt buộc), where failure to meet forced labor quotas or violation of rules results in beatings and
36
Articles 2, 24 and 28, Law No. 15 on Handling Administrative Violations No.15/2012/QH13) of June 20, 2012,
http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=445570
37
Law No. 15/2012/QH13 on Handling Administrative Violations, June 20, 2012, https://luatminhkhue.vn/en/law/law-no-15-2012-
qh13-on-handling-of-administrative-violations.aspx
38
“Vietnam: Free Peaceful Activist,” Human Rights Watch, January 4, 2012,
https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/01/04/vietnam-free-peaceful-activist
39
“Vietnam: Torture and Abuse of Political and Religious Prisoners,” Campaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam, 2014.
40
“Children of the Dust: Abuse of Hanoi Street Children in Detention,” Human Rights Watch, November 2006.
41
“Vietnam: Events of 2016,” Human Rights Watch World Report, January 2017, https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-
chapters/vietnam ; “Vietnam: Torture and Abuse of Political and Religious Prisoners in Vietnam,” Campaign to Abolish Torture in
Vietnam, 2014.
17
VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 201842
confinement in disciplinary rooms lacking adequate food and water. In 2017, the government issued Decree 97 that
43
expands the categories of people who can be sent to compulsory drug rehabilitation centers.
6. Abuses in Prisons: General Inmate Population
6.1. Harsh Disciplinary Measures
Under Vietnamese law, police are not lawfully authorized to use corporal punishment to discipline prisoners who
violate regulations. Instead, disciplinary measures are limited to issuing reprimands or warnings, or sending the
44
prisoner to isolation cells.
For the general prison population, physical abuse is less focused on extracting confessions for the crime they have
been sentenced to, but on disciplining prisoners who violate rules or fail to meet work production quotas. (See section
7, below, regarding disciplinary measures for prisoners of conscience.)
Physical abuse takes place openly in the presence of other prisoners, behind closed doors in special interrogation
rooms, or in solitary confinement cells. Prisoners with tacit approval or even disciplinary authority from prison officials
also carry out beatings of other inmates.
In one incident at Cai Tau Prison in Ca Mau province, a police colonel and a prison guard viciously beat an inmate in
the prison courtyard for more than ten minutes, as 1,000 prisoners looked on. While the guard kicked the prisoner all
over his body, the colonel clubbed him numerous times with a hard rubber baton as he lay on the ground, covering his
head. The colonel then used the trunk of a tree and a two-foot long bed post with sharp edges to bludgeon the
45
prisoner, before ordering him to crawl on his hands and knees back to the Security Room.
6.1.a. Security Rooms
Prisons and detention centers have special rooms, sometimes referred to as “Security Rooms,” in which police
interrogate and discipline prisoners who violate prison rules. Prisoners may be subjected to shackling, threats, and
physical abuse in these rooms.
Nguyen Van Hai described the Security Room at Cai Tau Prison: “Many prisoners are beaten in that room. On each
side of the room are benches with leg shackles. The prisoner sits on the bench, his feet chained to shackles on the
floor, which prevents him from standing up when beaten. Beatings are carried out by prison supervisors, together
46
with prisoners working as ‘security’.”
42
“Vietnam: Events of 2017,” Human Rights Watch World Report, January 2018, https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-
chapters/vietnam ;
“The Rehab Archipelago: Forced Labor and Other Abuses in Drug Detention Centers in Southern Vietnam,” Human Rights Watch,
September 7, 2011, https://www.hrw.org/report/2011/09/07/rehab-archipelago/forced-labor-and-other-abuses-drug-detention-
centers-southern
43
Decree No. 97/2017/ND-CP detailing a number of measures to implement the Law on Handling Administrative Violations, August
18, 2017.
44
Article 38, Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments, No. 53/2010/QH12, June 17, 2010
45
CAT-VN interview with Nguyen Van Hai (Dieu Cay), April 2015. He was sent to Cai Tau Prison during his first round of
imprisonment in 2009 on politically-motivated tax evasion charges (rather than national security charges), and thus was imprisoned
with the general inmate population serving time for common criminal offenses.
46
CAT-VN interview with former Cai Tau prisoner Nguyen Van Hai, April 2015.
18
VIETNAM - REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE - 20186.1.b. Discipline Cells
Under Vietnamese law, prisoners who violate regulations can be punished by being sent to solitary confinement or
small group isolation in “Disciplinary Rooms” (buồng kỷ luật, phòng giam kỷ luật, or kho ky luat) for up to 10 days,
47
where their legs may be shackled. In reality, many prisoners spend far longer than 10 days in Discipline Rooms. At
Cai Tau Prison, for example, most prisoners are sent to the Discipline Room for an initial ten days, which can then be
48
extended to as much as two or three consecutive months.
Disciplinary Rooms include both solitary confinement cells as well as rooms holding up to three or four prisoners. As
part of the prisoners’ punishment, conditions in the Disciplinary Rooms are much harsher than in regular cells: food
rations and drinking water are reduced, family visits are prohibited, mats and mosquito nets are usually not provided,
and access to bathing facilities restricted.
At Cai Tau Prison, the disciplinary section holds both male and female inmates. It consists of four rooms separated
from the prison’s main courtyard by a locked gate. Each room holds up to three inmates. Prisoners in the disciplinary
section are not allowed to receive food packages from their families, or to buy anything from the prison canteen.
Meals, brought twice a day, consist of boiled water poured over tough bok choy (Chinese cabbage), with no
seasonings or salt. Once a week the three cellmates in each room are provided one tablespoon of salt. Each three-
person cell is provided only two liters of drinking water a day, which is not enough to drink, let alone to wash. Once a
49
month they are allowed to take a shower.
Nguyen Van Hai described the condition of a fellow prisoner after six months in the Discipline Cell: “After six months
in there, his hair was shoulder length. He had sores from his toes to the back of his head from not being able to wash
for so long. He had been in the cell 24/7 except for once a month, when he was allowed to shower. He said that he
slept on the cement floor of the cell, where the dirt was an inch thick. It was hard to sleep because his feet were
shackled and the heat could be intense. He told me the only reason he survived was because he ate whatever food
50
the others couldn't eat.”
6.2. Detention Conditions Amounting to Torture and Ill-Treatment
Prisoners in Vietnam are subjected to harsh and degrading conditions of imprisonment that often fail to meet
international prison standards. These include severe overcrowding, prolonged confinement in cells that lack natural
light, sufficient air, or enough water to properly bathe; insufficient food and water, and prohibitions on leaving the cell
and going outside.
Serious deprivation of basic human needs—especially when applied to increase prisoners’ feelings of powerlessness,
break down their resistance, and coerce them to sign admissions of guilt—violates prohibitions on inhuman and
51
degrading conditions and can amount to ill treatment and even torture.
Group cells are often overcrowded, filthy, and airless. In many prisons, ventilation is provided only by small narrow
slats in the concrete walls, near the ceiling. Food is provided through a window in the door. Adequate healthcare is
rarely provided, and in some cases it is denied outright.
47
Article 38, Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments, No. 53/2010/QH12, June 17, 2010.
48
CAT-VN interview with former Cai Tau prisoner Nguyen Van Hai, April 2015.
49
Ibid.
50
Ibid.
51
“The Treatment of Prisoners Under International Law," Nigel S. Rodley, Oxford University Press, 2009, page 425.
19
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